Monthly Archives: September 2015

There are days when you want to write a 1,500 word essay about a Doctor Who serial, a Disney short, or a video game. And there are other days where you just want to show off the crayons that your wife is making for your birthday. This is one of the those days!

Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” is the first of eight musical shorts released as part of Disney’s Fantasia in 1940. It was selected to introduce Walt’s unique mix of animation and symphony, as well as provide us with our first look at Leopold Stokowski, the conductor; Deems Taylor, the narrator; and the players of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The short contains no plot, but transitions smoothly from a live-action blend of music and color to abstract animation. It ends where it began, with a brilliant image of the conductor silhouetted in front of the rising sun. It is one of the most iconic images of the Fantasia experience.

This “Disney Diary” is the first in a series on Fantasia (1940), one post for each of the musical shorts contained in the program. These will be followed by a wrap-up combining and linking them together to provide a full assessment of the film. Read on for part one of Fantasia!

“As we learn about each other, so we learn about ourselves.” – The Doctor

As the third serial of Doctor Who comes to an end, the show finally reaches something of an equilibrium. No longer are Ian and Barbara prisoners, but rather full-fledged “companions” in the modern sense of the word. If the show had not been picked up for a full season, it would have ended here: as a fun little science fiction adventure told in thirteen parts. But, as we know, what they really did with these early episodes was launch a sensation.

As the strange happenings continue on the TARDIS, our companions argue with each other until the true danger is discovered. With their collective lives in the balance, only then do they come together to save themselves. It’s a deep dive into the nature of our key relationships, both with the Doctor and with each other. The tension is high, but the ultimate resolution is surprisingly low tech. We are also left with a key but enduring mystery: is the TARDIS alive? More thoughts on this after our recap.